Conventionally, water-resistant woven fabrics have been widely used for applications to sport garments, general garments, bedding covers, etc. Especially for sport garments, with the spread of outdoor sports, etc., woven fabrics having improved water resistance have been demanded. In order to meet such demands, a method that reduces the single-fiber fineness of fibers forming a woven fabric, a method that increases the density of a woven fabric, and the like have been proposed (see, e.g., Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3). In addition, for these applications, not only water resistance but also lightweightness (low areal weight) has been demanded.
However, water resistance and lightweightness are usually conflicting properties. For example, there is a problem in that an increase in areal weight to improve water resistance impairs lightweightness, while, conversely, a decrease in areal weight to improve lightweightness impairs water resistance.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-2004-44018
Patent Document 2: JP-A-2005-240265
Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent No. 3034045